---
title: The Phoenician Alphabet & Language
author: Thamis
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/17/the-phoenician-alphabet--language/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 2025-02-04
---
# The Phoenician Alphabet & Language
_Authored by [Thamis](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/thamis/)_
Phoenician is a Canaanite language closely related to Hebrew. Very little is known about the Canaanite language, except what can be gathered from the El-[Amarna letters](https://www.worldhistory.org/Amarna_Letters/) written by Canaanite kings to Pharaohs Amenhopis III (1402 - 1364 BCE) and Akhenaton (1364 - 1347 BCE). It appears that the Phoenician language, [culture](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/culture/), and [writing](https://www.worldhistory.org/writing/) were strongly influenced by [Egypt](https://www.worldhistory.org/egypt/) (which controlled [Phoenicia](https://www.worldhistory.org/phoenicia/) for a long time), as king Rib-Adda of [Byblos](https://www.worldhistory.org/Byblos/) admits in one of his letters to the [pharaoh](https://www.worldhistory.org/pharaoh/).
[  Phoenician Oblelisk from Cyprus Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (Copyright) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/5215/phoenician-oblelisk-from-cyprus/ "Phoenician Oblelisk from Cyprus")### [Egyptian](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Egyptian/) & [Cuneiform](https://www.worldhistory.org/cuneiform/) Influence
Our knowledge of the Phoenician language is based on the few extant written texts in Phoenician. Before circa 1000 BCE Phoenician was written using cuneiform symbols that were common across [Mesopotamia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamia/). The first signs of the Phoenician [alphabet](https://www.worldhistory.org/alphabet/) found at Byblos are clearly derived from Egyptian [hieroglyphics](https://www.worldhistory.org/Egyptian_Hieroglyphs/), and not from cuneiform. The 22 Phoenician letters are simplifications of Egyptian hieroglyphic symbols, which took on a standardized form at the end of the 12th century BCE. Like Hebrew and Arabic, Phoenician was written from right to left, and vowels were omitted (which makes deciphering Phoenician even harder).
### Similarities to Hebrew
By 1000 BCE the Phoenician and Hebrew languages had become distinct from Aramaic, which was spoken in [Canaan](https://www.worldhistory.org/canaan/). To give a few examples, the "ha-" prefix is used in both Phoenician and Hebrew to indicate a determinate noun, while in Aramaic the "-a" suffix is used. The pronoun for the first person is "ānōkī" while in Aramaic it is "anā" (as it is in modern Arabic). The word for "son" is "bar" in Aramaic but "ben" is Phoenician and Hebrew. Nonetheless there are differences between Hebrew and Phoenician: The verbs for "to be" and "to do" differ and the long "a" sound in Hebrew is pronounced "o" in Phoenician, for example.
[  Phoenician Alphabet Ansgar (Public Domain) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/173/phoenician-alphabet/ "Phoenician Alphabet")### Evolution
The Phoenician writing system is, by virtue of being an alphabet, simple and easy to learn, and also very adaptable to other languages, quite unlike cuneiform or hieroglyphics. In the 9th century BCE the Aramaeans had adopted the Phoenician alphabet, added symbols for the initial "aleph" and for long vowels. This Aramaic alphabet eventually turned into modern Arabic. By the 8th century BCE, texts written in the Phoenician alphabet whose authors were probably not Phoenician appeared in [Cilicia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Cilicia/) in southern [Asia Minor](https://www.worldhistory.org/Asia_Minor/) and in northern [Syria](https://www.worldhistory.org/syria/). Eventually the Greeks, who were in close trading contact with the [Levant](https://www.worldhistory.org/levant/), adopted the Phoenician alphabet, added vowel sounds, and thus created the [Greek alphabet](https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Alphabet/) (upon which our modern Latin alphabet is based).
#### Editorial Review
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## Bibliography
- Gras, M, P. Rouillard, J. Teixidor. *L'univers phénicien.* Hachette, 2006
## Cite This Work
### APA
Thamis. (2012, January 18). The Phoenician Alphabet & Language. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Thamis. "The Phoenician Alphabet & Language." *World History Encyclopedia*, January 18, 2012. .
### MLA
Thamis. "The Phoenician Alphabet & Language." *World History Encyclopedia*, 18 Jan 2012, .
## License & Copyright
Submitted by [Thamis](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/thamis/ "User Page: Thamis"), published on 18 January 2012. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.